How Localisation Can Take Your Content Global

May 15, 2017Jennie Harding

Localisation is the process of making your content specific to one locale or market. While globalisation has been a buzzword in business for quite a few years, the importance of localisation is just being realised. As a result, many businesses are still being slow to reap the rewards. It might sound counter-intuitive, but localisation can actually help to take your business around the world. Here’s the how and why.

It’s a common misconception that English is the world’s most widely spoken language. While huge countries like the US and Canada do speak the language, it’s still behind Mandarin and Spanish in terms of fluent speakers. Here are some important facts: 70% of the world’s population doesn’t speak English, over half of all Google searches are conducted in a language other than English, and as many as two-thirds of internet users don’t have English as their first language. With these facts in mind, it makes sense to offer online content in a number of different languages – and yet nearly 60% of websites still only offer content in English.

Simply put, localising your content can give you a true competitive edge. When surveyed, 90% of internet users in the EU said they would choose a website that had content in their native language over one that didn’t. Imagine if you’re one of the businesses putting customers fist and localising content. It could increase your chances of making that all important sale threefold.

To further support this, online business advice guru, Neil Patel, found that the traffic to his popular blog increased by a whopping 41% after translating it into several different languages. These gains were seen even after using an online translation tool, so imagine the rewards you could reap if you chose to invest in a professional translation service!

So, want to take your business global? Localisation is the answer.

Taking the leap and starting the localisation process doesn’t have to be difficult. With professional translation services, we can help you to maximise your content – and your profit. Find out more about what Language Insight can do for you here.